The Yankees, searching for bench help, have spoken with the Astros about infielder Jeff Keppinger, according to major league sources.

A trade does not appear close, but the teams have engaged in recent discussions, one source said.

The Astros increased the possibility of trading Keppinger on Friday by reaching agreement with free agent Bill Hall on a one-year contract to play second base.

The Yankees had shown interest in Hall, but Keppinger, who stands to receive a raise from his $1.15 million in his second year of arbitration, could fill a similar role.

Keppinger, 30, was the Astros’ primary second baseman last season. He can back up at all four infield positions and also has made five career appearances in the outfield.

The Astros likely would ask for no more than a mid-level prospect in return, especially now that Keppinger has lost his everyday job.

Keppinger batted .288 with a .351 on-base percentage and .393 slugging average last season, with six home runs and 59 RBI in 575 plate appearances. He lacks speed and power, but was the most difficult player to strike out in the majors last season.

He’s a right-handed starter. He’s 27 years old. He pitches in the American League Central. He has garnered a lot of recent interest on the trade market.

Zack Greinke?

Nope.

Fausto Carmona.

Greinke, of course, is The Name among starters on the trade market right now. But sources indicated to FOXSports.com today that it’s possible even more teams have asked the Cleveland Indians about Carmona.

If, for example, the Yankees are unsure of Greinke’s desire to pitch in New York, then Carmona could become a very appealing option.

Similarly, the Texas Rangers could turn to Carmona if they are wary of the Kansas City Royals’ high price on Greinke.

One major league source with close knowledge of Carmona’s market said the Indians aren’t eager to move him, but are in a “listen and explore” mode because of the heavy interest following the Cliff Lee signing.

For what it’s worth, some statistics suggest Carmona was better than Greinke in 2010. Carmona had the lower ERA and better ERA-plus, although Greinke had the lower WHIP and threw more innings.

Carmona is signed to a more favorable contract, in terms of cost and flexibility: $6.1 million in 2011, followed by team options worth $7 million, $9 million and $12 million in the subsequent three seasons, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Greinke, meanwhile, will earn $13.5 million in each of the next two seasons.

Carmona was a Cy Young Award candidate in 2007, when he went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA and the Indians came within one game of the World Series. He slipped into a mysterious funk over the next two seasons, walking more batters (140 combined over 2008-09) than he struck out (137). But he returned to form this year with a 3.77 ERA in 210 1/3 innings.

Before signing Carl Crawford, the Red Sox may have engaged in some good old-fashioned negotiating hijinks.

It would be just like the Sox to throw a monkey wrench into the Yankees’ attempt to sign Cliff Lee

And this little stunt, if it indeed happened, would have qualified.

The Sox are one team that made a seven-year offer to Lee, according to officials with another club.

But there was a catch.

The offer was for a lower dollar figure than Lee would accept, making it an offer Lee was certain to refuse.

Why would the Sox do such a thing?

Because with such an offer, they would empower Lee’s agents to say they had a seven-year bid, potentially forcing the Yankees to increase their six-year proposal.

The Yankees do not plan to go beyond six years for Lee, according to a source with knowledge of the club’s thinking.

The Red Sox often bid on free agents the Yankees want in order to drive up the price. The Yankees often do the same thing in reverse. In fact, that was at least part of their motivation in entering the fray for Crawford.

Gary Sheffield traveled to the winter meetings on Tuesday from his home in nearby Tampa, Fla. As usual, the 500-homer man had some interesting things to say.

For one thing, the 42-year-old wasn’t ready to declare that he'd retired from playing, despite sitting out the 2010 season. But it doesn’t sound like he’s actively seeking offers.

“Never say never,” he said.

At the moment, Sheffield is working as an adviser on baseball and financial matters. He's started Sheffield Management Company, with former teammate (and free-agent reliever) Jason Grilli as a client.

Grilli missed this season after sustaining a severe knee injury in spring training, but Sheffield said Grilli’s fastball velocity is already back to 95 mph. (Scott Boras, formerly hired and fired as Sheffield’s agent, could not have done the sales pitch any better.)

Sheffield earned $168 million during his 22 major league seasons, according to Baseball-Reference.com. So, we know he is well-versed in two areas – making money and judging pitchers.

Type A free-agent reliever Scott Downs will reject the Toronto Blue Jays’ offer of salary arbitration, a major league source told FOXSports.com.

Downs has drawn interest from the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, among others.

Downs, a 34-year-old left-hander, is not well-known to casual baseball fans, perhaps because he's pitched exclusively for Montreal and Toronto since 2003. He has relatively little experience as a closer.

However, teams have long coveted him on the trade market, in part because he's had success against difficult American League East lineups. He is likely to sign a multi-year contract as a free agent.

The Yankees plan to offer salary arbitration to free-agent right-hander Javier Vazquez, but not because they want to retain him.

Vazquez, a Type B free agent, has agreed to reject the Yankees' offer, enabling the team to collect a supplemental draft pick between the first and second rounds when he signs with another team, major-league sources say.

Teams frequently make such gentleman's agreements with Type B free agents. No harm is done to the signing team, which doesn't lose a pick for signing a Type B player.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman enjoys a strong relationship with Vazquez's agents, Sam and Seth Levinson. Vazquez likely would receive a raise from his $11.5 million salary if he accepted arbitration, but Cashman wouldn't make the offer without receiving assurances from the Levinsons that Vazquez would reject the one-year, non-guaranteed deal and remain on the open market.

He isn’t nearly as big a priority as Cliff Lee, Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera. But don’t be surprised if you hear the Yankees linked to free-agent utility man Bill Hall before the offseason is over.

Hall works out in the offseason with Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long. The Yankees could use a veteran utility player. And Hall is on a list of free agents in whom the Yankees have interest, major-league sources say.

The Yankees might be limited in their remaining payroll flexibility if they sign Lee, Jeter and Rivera. The Red Sox likely are in the same position – interested in Hall, but addressing other needs first.

Hall, who turns 31 on Dec. 28, batted .247/.316/.456 for the Red Sox last season, hitting 18 home runs in 344 at-bats. In addition to pitching one inning, he played six defensive positions – all three in the outfield and every one in the infield but first base.

The Yankees would benefit from such versatility. Jeter turns 37 on June 26. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez turns 36 on July 27. Jorge Posada, 39, will be the primary DH.

Among free agents, Jerry Hairston Jr. is similar to Hall but offers less power. Ty Wigginton is a player in whom the Yankees have had past interest, but he played mostly at first last season. Hall appeared mostly in left and at second base, but third was his primary position in 2008 and ’09.

The Yankees did not carry a true backup at third last season, using Ramiro Pena as their utility infielder. Pena, Eduardo Nunez and Brandon Laird all represent young, affordable options in utility roles.

“We have a good utility guy in Pena,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “We think Eduardo Nunez will be an everyday shortstop in the big leagues, but he very well could be a utility guy for us. Laird plays first base, third base and outfield.

“Obviously, are there better veteran guys available in free agency or the trade market? Very probably, there are. But is that the best way to go? We’ll just have to wait and see.”

As much as the Yankees and Rangers would like a quick resolution to the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, it probably is not going to happen.

The free agent and his agent, Darek Braunecker, intend to meet with clubs besides the Yankees, a major league source said. Those meetings easily could delay Lee’s decision until the winter meetings in early December or even longer.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made the first personal contact with Lee, flying to Arkansas on Tuesday night and staying until late Wednesday afternoon. But the calendar for the rest of the month makes a series of such meetings with other teams unlikely.

Next week, GMs and owners will gather for their own meetings in Orlando, Fla. The week after that is a short one because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The winter meetings, also in Orlando, are Dec. 6-9.

Seven to eight teams initially showed interest in Lee, sources said, though some are more serious than others. The list of possible suitors for the left-hander includes the Yankees, Rangers, Nationals, Phillies, Dodgers, Angels and Red Sox.

Some have wondered if the Detroit Tigers would be an option for Derek Jeter, in the unlikely event that his negotiations with the New York Yankees break down. After all, he is a Michigan native.

But it’s doubtful that the Tigers will be in the market for a shortstop by the time Jeter files for free agency.

Instead, the Tigers are expected to reach an agreement with incumbent shortstop Jhonny Peralta, perhaps even before the free agency period begins.

Peralta’s contract includes a club option for next year worth $7.25 million. The Tigers are expected to decline that option and instead renegotiate a two-year deal. The total value of the contract will probably be a little less than the $11.5 million that third baseman Brandon Inge received in his two-year extension.

Peralta’s range at shortstop isn’t what it was, but he performed capably on defense after arriving in a July trade with the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers are willing to accept something less than Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop in exchange for Peralta’s run production; he totaled 81 RBIs in 148 games last year.

And here’s something to keep in mind: His contract with the Kansas City Royals includes a no-trade clause – but only through the end of next season.

The contract itself won’t expire until after the 2012 season. But Greinke will lose his leverage in trade talks as soon as the non-waiver deadline passes on July 31, 2011.

Here are the details of Greinke’s contract, according to multiple major-league sources:

-- During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Greinke was able to block trades to 20 teams.

-- In 2011, that protection drops to 15 teams.

-- This year, the clause would have permitted the Royals to trade him to mostly small-market teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays. Greinke could have blocked deals to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, among other big-market teams.

Greinke is set to earn $13.5 million in each of the next two seasons. His performance slipped this year after winning the Cy Young Award in 2009. He went 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 33 starts.